Filling-exhaustion-indicating mechanism for looms.



c. E. NUT TING. FILLING EXHAUSTION INDIGATING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 26, 1908.

91 2,257, Patented Feb. 9, 1909. v

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

0. E. NUTTING. v FILLING BXHAUSTION INDIGATING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 26, 1908.

' Patented Feb. 9,1909.

2 BHEETS-SHEET 2.

uinrrnn srnrns PATENT nice.

CHARLES E. NUTTING,' OF HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO DRAPER COMPANY, OF HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, CORPORATION OF MAINE.

FILLIN G-EXHAUSTION-INDICATI N G IVEECHANISM FOR LOOMS.

are. 912,257.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 9, loco.

Application filed August 26, 1908. Serial Ila-450,832. I

T on whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES E. NUTTING, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Hopedale, county of W orcestcr, State of Massachusetts, haveinvented an Improvement in Filling-Exhaustion-Indicating Mechanism for Looms, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates particularly to filling-replenishing looms of t ie type wherein the filling is replenished automatically prior to complete exhaustion thereof in the running or working shuttle, in order that no blank pic {S or picks of short lengths shall be woven into the cloth, such looms being technically termed feeler'loonis because of the presence of a feeler, which periodically contacts with the filling in the running shuttlc, and when the volume of filling has been reduced or exhausted to the desired extent eileots automatically the actuation of the replenishing mechanism.

Various forms of feeler mechanism have been devised and put into practice, designed to obviate the uncertainty of operation due to the resence of variable factors in the prac tice operation of the loom, such as variations in the size of bobbins, slight changes in the position ,of the bobbin in the shuttle; varia' tions in the beat'of the lay, etc., and more recently a feeler mechanism has been devisedwl'ierein the feeler' is provided with a lock to prevent the feelcr from erforming its function until filling replenishment is demanded. In connection with such f eeler and its looks. feeler-governor is provided, so constructed and arranged with relation to the feeler that the latterv prevents impingement of the feeler-governor upon the filling in the shuttle until the filling'is exhausted to a certain extent, after which the feel er isunlocked and its functional movement 1S 'efi'e'cted at the time the desired denudation of filling is' reached.

As a result of such functional movement of the unlocked feeler a change is effected automatically in the operation of the. loom, such for instance as the actuation of a filling-replenishing mechanism.- i

P My present invention is of the class just described, and it has for its object the-pro duction of a feeler mechanism which can be readily constructed at a low cost, with-means for adjustmentito take up wear nndwith certain improvements in details of construction, to be fullydescribed in the subjoined specification and particularly pointed out in t e following claims. I I

I-make no claim, broadly, to a feeler-mechanism in which the feeler is normally locked, nor to the combination, with a feeler and fe'eler-lock of a feeler-governor, as the same is not of my invention.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a portion of a loom equipped with feeler mechanism embodying my invention, the parts being shown in normal condition and ready to cooperate with the fillin in the shuttle on the forward beat of the ay; Fi 2 is a left hand end elevation and partia section on the line-22, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan View of the 'feeler mechanism, partly roken out, and just rior to the substantial or predetermined exhaustion ofthe filling in the running or working shuttle; Fig. 4 is an inner side elevation of the major part of the feeler mechanism; Fig. 5 is a longi- .a shuttle-box B in which is shown a shuttle C provided with a removable fillin -carrier or.bobbin D, and in Fig. '3 thefii ling D thereon is illustrated as approaching exhaustion- Asshown in Fig. 2 the front wall of the shuttle has a slot 0 adapted to register with an o'peningb in the front plate of the shuttleboX when the shuttle is boxed through which opening and slot. the feeler' and feelergovernor enter as the lay heats up, to cooperate with the filling in the shuttle.

3 U on an extension of the breast-beam is firm y bolted a bracket GE, and upon the extension is mounted a transmitter-T, ful crumed to rock upon a substantially horizontal fulcrum-stud Ti and having at its outer end a forwardly extended slotte 'f cam portion T all substantially as in Uii ited Stateslate'nt No.-7 89,471' antedto Wood &=NorthropMsy-9, 1 905. 1. iien the-trans;-

m'itter is reckeiby or through theoperation of the feeler device a filling-replenishing inechanism is caused to operate, as in said patent, such mechanism being well known and not illustrated herein.

A cont-roller t, pivoted at its inner end at t, Fig. 1, is' extended at its outer end through the slot in the cam portion T of the transmitter, and ismaintained in its normal rearward position by a spring t all as in said patent,. the free end of said controller being provided with an upturned'and hey-- eled lug t for a purpose to be described. When the outer end of the controller is moved forward by or through the operation of the feeler device it acts through the cam ortion T of the transmitter to rock the 'atter on its stud T and thereby effect automatically the replenishment of filling, as in said Patent No. 789,471.

In accordance with my present invention the feeler is made as a lever, stamped or struck up from plate metal and comprising a long arm 1, a short-arm 3 in a different but parallel plane, and a connecting. portion or bend 2, the arms being laterally offset from each other, the part of the plate adjacent the bend having an openin 4 to receive with a driving lit the sheu dered upper end of a sleeve hub 5, Fig.6, which loosely embraces the shank of an u right, headed fulcrum-stud 6, the stud hea being shown as extending over the feeler beyond the. aperture 4, to retain the feeler in position. This construction provides the feeler with a long and firmly attached hub, in a very simple and cheap manner, the long bearing of the hub on the stud '6 resulting in steady movement of anda firm support for the fecler and reducing wear to a minimum. The threaded end 7 of the stud is secured to the feeler-governo'r, to be referred to hereinafter, the forward end ,of the arm 1 having a beveled notch 8 to cooperate with the lug t of the controller t when the feeler is swung on its fulcrum 6 from its normal position, Figs. 1 and 3, into position to register with-said lug.

The long. arm 1 has a lateral extension 9 downturned at 10 to form an abutment, provided on its rear face with a spring-positioning teat 11, see Fig. 5, made by a suitable stamp or tool. On the same side of the arm 1 I provide a second lateral and tapered extension 12, betweenthe fulcrum 6 and the abutment, to cooperate with the'feeler lock, to be described, and opposite the extension 12 a'depending ear 13 is formed on said arm 1, for a purpose to be described. The extension 12, abutment 10 with its teat 11, and the ear 13 are all integral with the feeler and are formed when the blank is made, said parts being bent into position by suitable dies or forming tools in an easy manner.

The feeler-governor comprises a flat imbeing mounted formovement back and forth in a suitable guide 16 attached to the bracket F, said governor being moved rearwardly by a spring 17, (see dotted lines Fig. 3) within v the gun e 16, and it is moved forward by the action of the filling upon the feeler device as the lay beats up. a carrier for the feeler, and said feeler has a movement in unison with the feeler-goir ernor as the latter is reciprooated and it also has a relative swinging movement about its fulcrum 6.

The head 14 of the governor and the rear end of the short arm 3 of the feeler lie side by side and both pass through the aperture 1) and slot 0 into the shuttle as the lay beats up, see Fig. 3, the filling on the filling-carrier or bobbin inr inging upon the feeler (which is normally ocked) and moving it and the feeler-governor. forward in unison against the spring 17, there'being no relative move ment of the feeler and governor during the v usual and normal action, until the filling in the shuttle a roaches exhaustion. The normallocking of the feeler is effected by engagement of the extension 12 with the feeler lock, which I have herein shown as a. socketed, cylindrical circular head 19, the p unger being mounted to slide longitudinally in a bearing bushing 20 screwed into an upright, tubular and internally threaded support 21 forming a part of the feeler-governor. The plunger is thus adapted to slide forward and back in parallelism with the )ath of movement of the feeler-govemor, t e head 19 normally being held in operative position against the front end ofthe support 21 by a spiral spring 22. The rear end of the spring enters the socket 23 of the plunger, see Fig. 5, and its front end tioned thereon by the teat 11, the spring serving not only to maintain the lock normally in operative position, with the head 19 against the front end of the bushing and in engagement with the extension 12, but also to return the'feeler to its normal position after it has performed its functional movement.

The governor constitutes bears against the abutment 10v and is posilunger 18 having a I When the feeler is unlocked and is swung to the left, viewing Fig. 1, to cooperate with the controller, the spring 22 is deflected slightl from its normal position and to facilitate tiis deflection I prefer to cup out or countersink the front end of the socket, as at 24, Fig. 5. When the feeler is locked it cannot be swung into position to cooperate with the controller t, and its movement in the opposite direction is limited by an adjustable stop, shown as a split screw 25, Fig. 7, in an ear '26 on the shank of the feeler-governor, the end of the stop bearing against the depending ear 1-3 on the feeler.

By mal'ring the stop as a split-screw I ohviate the use of a check-nut to lock it in ad- 65 pinging head 14 ands shank 1 5, thelatter V the feeler lock, reventing back-lash or im- -pro or play of t e parts.

t he feeler-governor can be made as a casting, and requires but little finishing, the bormg and tapping of the support 21 and the ear 26 being simple and cheap operations.

Referring to Fig. 3, it be seen that the impinging faces of the head 14 of the feelergovernorand the short arm 3 of the feeler are out of alinement, the feeler projecting rearward a short distance beyond the head of the governor, so that if the filling on the bobbin D is in front of the feeler the feelergovernor cannot impinge upon the filling.

The aperture 2') in the front plate ofth'e shuttle-box B is high enough to receive the rear end ofthe locking plunger 18 as the lay heats up, butthe lunger is above the slota in the shuttle, so that the locking device cannot under any circumstances enter such slot.

A'brief descri tion of the operation of the apparatus will be sufficient for a thorough understanding thereof. The rojection of the feeler rearwardlybeyond t 1e feeler-governor is maintained at all times, whether said parts are outside of the shuttle or when either artis in contact with the filling, except w en the feeler is unlocked and is swung on its fulcrum. While there is ample filling in the shuttle it impinges upon the feeler asthe lay heats up, and the feeler, feeler-governor and feeler lock are moved forward as a unit, with the lay, and as the latter swings back the spring 17 moves said parts backand the feeler-governor and parts mounted thereon are intermittently moved forward as a unit, the feeler still being locked. The rear end of the feelerlock is shown in Fig.3 in contact with the shuttle body, while the forward movement of the lay has not quite effected contact between the filling D and the feeler-governor, so that as the forward movement of the lay continues the feeler-lock will be first moved forward to carrythe head 19 forward beyond the extension 12-, unlocking the feeler. The filling D then impinges upon the feeler-governor, moving it and the parts thereon forward, but as the feeler does not touch the bare bobbin it remains quiescent on its fulcrum, and this action is repeated until byfurther depletion of the filling thedenuded body of the filling carrier.

feeler is permitted to impinge'upon the bobbin, before the feeler-governor impinges upon the filling at D. Inasmuch asthe feeler has been unlocked previously by engagement of the plunger 18 on the shuttle the feelcr will end 8 behind and into engagement with the .lug 25 on the controller,.and then as the feeler and feeler-governor move forward the controller 1s swung forward, rocking thetransnutter Tand effecting'the actuation of the replenishing mechanism. The efiective feel ing action, as will be manifest, is between the last'windings of filling on the filling-carrier and the surface of the latter left bare by the be swung on its fulcrum, bringing its notched weaving off of the filling which previously covered it, such effective feeler action being dependent upon the difference in level between the residue of filling and the adjacent The spring 22 is light in comparison with the feeler-governor spring 17, and the former spring performs the double function of returning the feeler to normal position and restoring the feeler lock to operative position after each movement thereof to releasing position. When the bushing 20 becomes worn it can be quickly removed and a new bushing inserted in the support 21, and as has been stated the wear-between the locking head 19 and the extension 12 can be taken'up by the adjustable stop 25. The, feeler first contacts with the filling on the working filling-carrier; then it is held idle or quiescent when it contacts with neither filling nor filling-carrier,

and finally it contacts with the denuded body of the filling-carrier. During the first of these periods the feeler and feeler-governor move as a unit and in the same direction, the feeler being locked from movement relatively to the feelengovernor, and the latter has no functional contact with the filling or the filling-carrier. In the second period the filling in the path of the feeler has been so far ex- 'hausted that the feeler-governor impinges upon the filling while the feeler is thereby held clear of both the filling and the fillingcarrier, and the duration of this period of idleness of the feeler is governed by the feeler-governor. Toward the close of this period the depletion of the filling between the filling-carrier and the feeler-governor permits the shuttle body to engage and move the lock relatively to the feelengovernor and feeler, unlocking the latter. Finally, by further depletion of the filling infront of the feelergovernor the feeler again becomes activeb impinging upon the denuded body of the iil t 1ng-carr1er, and being unlocked it IS moved,

relatively to' the feeler-governor and in adi 'rection different from that in which the-governor moves, thus cooperating with the con.-

troller and effecting the desiredchange in the o oration of the loom. This occurs while tgere is still enough filling on the fillingmarl tiona movement, it will be against the spring,

35 for the front end of the bushing limits rearrier to continue the weaving until the replen ishment of filling has been eilected, so that there is no discontinuance or break in the laying of the filling in the shed.

5 By reference to Fig. 3 it will be seen. that when the feeler-lock is moved forward by engagement with the'shuttle body the spring 22 i will be compressed, so that when the t'eeler is swun on its fulcrum 6, periormii'ig its l'unc-' which thusacts at such time as a cushion for the feelerfpreventing.a jerky movement thereof. After functional movement of the j I unlocked feeler the backward movement of the lay releases the i'eeler from contact with j the filling-carrier and the shuttle body is moved away from the rear end of the feelerlock, permitting spring 22 to expand. and rcstore the lock to normal position, and should the lock be released first the pressure of the rear side of the head 19 against the tapered edge'of the extension 12 will act in conjunctionwith the spring pressure on the abutment 10 to restore the feeler to normal posivtion. That is, the tapered form of the ex tension 12 prevents any catching 01" the same between the head 19 and the support 21 after the feeler has been unlocked and has performed its functional swinging movement. By adjustment of the bushing for the feelerlock the rear end of the latter can be changed somewhat as to its-normal position, so that the engagement thereof by the shuttle body will be effected a little sooner or a little later,

ward movement of the lock, the head of the latter being thick enough topermit the slight adjustment while still properly cooperating with the extension on the feeler.

Having fully described my invention, what 'I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent is 1. A loom having a feelengovernor and a feeler movable relatively thereto, incombination with a feeler-lock which normally cooperates with and locks the, feeler, and an adjustable, self-locking stop to cooperate with the feeler and take up wear between it and the feeler lock. j 2. A loom having, in combination, a fecler to enter the shuttle and cooperate. with the filling therein, a feeler-lock which normally locks the feeler but before the filling requires replenishment releases and thereby permits functional movement of the feeler, means acting independently of the feeler to render the feeler-lock inoperative, and an adjustable stop cooperating with thc feeler.

3. A loom having a le'eler-governor and a "feeler movable relatively thereto, both of which enter the shuttle to cooperate with the filling therein, anelongated hub fixed on the feeler, a fulcrum-stud'on the feeler-governor, on which the hub is rotatably mounted, a

lateral extension on the feeler, a depending earon its opposite side, a normally operative lceler-lock coo crating withsaid extension to lock the lee er from movement about the fulcrum-stud, and an adjustable stop on the 4. A loom having a feeler-governor and a" leelcr movable relatively thereto, both of which enter the shuttle to cooperate with the filling therein, in combination with a feelerloch slidab y mounted on thefeele'r-governor and normally locking the fecler, and a spring acting upon the leeler-lock andthe feeler, to normally maintain the former in its operative position and to return the latter to normal position after functional movement thereof.

5. A loom having a leeleregovernor and a feeler movable relatively thereto, both of which enter the shuttle to cooperate with the filling therein, a support on the i'eeler-gov ernor, and a removable bushing mounted in said support, in combination with a springcontrolled lceler-lock slidably mounted in the bushing and which normally locks the icelcr, but, when the filling demands replenishment, releases the ieeler and thereby pen mits i'unc'tional movement thereof. a

6. A. loom havinga feeler-governor and a feeler movable relatively thereto, both of which enter the shuttle to cooperate with the filling therein, a support on the feelergovernor, and a removable bushing mounted in said support, in combination with a locking plunger longitudinally slidable in the bushing and normally cooperating with the ieeler to lock it, an abutment on the feeler, and a spring interposed between said plunger and abutment.

7. A loom having a ieeler-governor and a ieeler movable relatively thereto, both of which enter the shuttle to cooperate with the filling therein, in combination with a feeler-lock slidably mounted on the feelergovernor in parallelism with its path of movement, to normally lock the feeler, an abutment on the feeler opposite the forward end of the feeler-lock, and a spring interposed between the latter and the-abutment, to operatively position the feeler-lock and to return the feeler to normal position after functional movement thereof.

8. A loom having a feeler-governor and a fceler movable relatively thereto, both of which enter the shuttle to cooperate with the filling therein, in combination with a socketed feeler-lock mounted on the feelergovernor and movable relatively thereto in parallelism with its path of movement, said feeler-lock normally locking the feeler, an abutmenton the feeler opposite the forward end of said' feeler-lock, and a cofitrolling spring seated at one end in :the socket of the feeler-lock and at its other end bearing against the abutment.

9. A loom having, in combination, a feeler governor and a feeler pivotally mounted thereon, both of which enter the shuttle to cooperate with the weft therein, a feeler-lock movable with and also relatively to the feeler-governor, to normally lock the feeler, a spring cooperating with the feelerlock and the feeler, to operatively position the former and to return the latter to normal position after functional movement thereof, and a stop to limit spring-inducedmovement of the feeler.

10. A loom having, in combination, a feeler-governor and a feeler pivotally mounted thereon, both of which enter the shuttle to cooperate with the weft therein, a feeler-lock movable with and also relatively to the feeler-governor, to normally look the feeler, a spring cooperating with the feelerlock and the feeler, to operatively position the former and to return the latter to normal position after functional movement thereof, and an adjustable, self-locking stop on the feeler-governor to limit spring-induced movement of the feeler and to take up Wear between it and the feeler-lock.

11. A loom having, in combination, a feeler-governor and a feeler pivotally mounted thereon, both of which enter the shuttle to cooperate with the weft therein, a feeler-lock movable with and alsorelatively to the-feeler-governor, to normally look the feeler, a spring cooperating with the feelerlocl; and the feeler, to operatively position the former and to return the latter to normal position after functional movement thereof,

a sup ort integral with the feeler-governor,-

in which the feeler-lock is slidably mounted, an ear 'on and integral with the feelergovernor, and an adjustable stop in said ear,

\' to limit spring-induced movement. of the feeler. l 12. A loom having,

! which normally locks the feeler,- but which,

ibefore the filling demands replenishment, I l

releases and thereby permits the functional I movement of the feeler, said feeler-lock 5 comprising a slidably mounted, headed g plunger, an extension on the feeler to col operate with the plunger'head, an abutment on the feeler opposite said head, and a spring I interposed between the ab'utrnent and the plunger head, to act upon. both the feeler l and the feeler-lock.

13. In a feeler mechanism for looms, a i feeler made of plate metal and having a long l and a short arm, in different parallel planes, and an elongated, shouldered huh connected rigidly with the feeler by a driving fit, the feeler having an opening to receive the shouldered end of the hub.

14. A. loom having, in combination, a feeler adapted to enter the shuttle and cooperate with the filling, a-feeler-lock to normally lock the feeler from functional movement, the feeler-lock com rising a headed plunger, a support, an a justable bushing carried thereby and in which the plunger is slidable longitudinally, and a spring toact upon the plunger and normally maintain head against one end of the bushing, adjustment of the latter varying the position of the rear end of the plunger.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence-of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES. E. NUTTING.

in combination, a feeler entering the shuttle, a feeler-lock 

